'J&K Integral Part Of India But...': Asaduddin Owaisi Reacts To Article 370 Verdict

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that the manner in which 370 was abrogated was a violation of constitutional morality.

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the validity of the abrogation of Article 370 has drawn a sharp reaction from the opposition quarters. The opposition leaders not only expressed disappointment over the verdict but also said that their fight would continue. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that the legitimisation of the Union Government's decision may have wide consequences.

"There was no doubt that the state is an integral part of India. But being an integral part does not mean that it did not have a distinct constitutional relationship with the Union. This constitutional relationship was made permanent after the dissolution of the constituent assembly of Kashmir," said Owaisi on X.

He further said that the biggest losers of the Union government’s Article 370 decision will be the Dogras of Jammu and Buddhists of Ladakh as they will have to face demographic change.

"In Bommai's judgement, the Supreme Court had said that federalism is part of the basic structure of the constitution. Federalism means that the state has its voice and in its area of competence, it has complete freedom to operate. How is it that Parliament can speak in place of the Assembly? How is it that Parliament can pass a resolution that was to be passed by the Assembly in the constitution?" said Owaisi.

The Hyderabad MP further said that the manner in which 370 was abrogated was a violation of constitutional morality. "Even worse, the abrogation, bifurcation and downgrading of the state to union territory is a grand betrayal of the solemn promise that the Union of India had made to the people of Kashmir," he said.

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1. In 2019, the CJI spoke at a seminar and said that “public deliberation will always be a threat to those who achieved power in its absence.” The question is whether you can abrogate the special status of a state by putting the whole state in curfew, while it is… — Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 11, 2023

He claimed that the verdict has given a free hand to make big cities a union territory. "Once this has been legitimised, there is nothing stopping the union govt from making Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad or Mumbai a Union Territory. Let’s look at the case of Ladakh, it is being ruled by Lt. Governor, with no democratic representation at all," he said.

On August 5, 2019, the Central government announced the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted under Article 370 and split the region into two union territories.